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French President Jacques Chirac
Photo: AP

In memory of a giant

Yitzhak Rabin was an unbending patriot, soldier for peace

Yitzhak Rabin will go down in history as a distinguished statesman, an outstanding soldier who became peace knight. I will always remember this exceptional man, an unbending patriot, and determined leader who courageously forged the way to hope.

 

 


From soldier to diplomat: The famous handshake (Photo: AP)

 

On November 6, 1995, I attended Rabin's funeral at Mount Herzl, together with 80 heads of state, the Rabin family, and millions around the world who sought to express their pain and commitment to continue on his path.

 

It was a moment of tense emotion. Today, I think about the late Leah Rabin, an admirable woman who accompanied her husband through all his battles and continued fighting them even after his death.

 

I think about his children and grandchildren, and about all the people who fought alongside this giant, and about the people of Israel.

 

Hero, statesman

 

Above all, Yitzhak Rabin was a hero of the great Israeli adventure. From the War of Independence to the Six Day War, he earned the respect of all, friends and enemies alike. He epitomized a generation that made the desert bloom, created a vibrant democracy, and accomplishing the dream of a millennium: The creation of a homeland to the Jewish people that would give refuge to Jewish victims of persecution throughout the world.

 

Yitzhak Rabin was a great statesman because he had a vision. Nothing in his military career suggested he would one day offer his hand to the enemy. And nothing made this choice easy: Half a century of wars, of suffering, of fear and hatred stood in the way. But he broke the taboos when he decided to negotiate with Yasser Arafat and the PLO.

 

Current leaders Mahmoud Abbas and Shimon Peres can testify that Rabin understood, before others, that it was possible to speak to his neighbors with respect while at the same time maintaining Israel's security. He proved this to the Palestinian people and to the Jordanian Kingdom, and he paid for it with his life.

 

Oslo lives

 

Yitzhak Rabin’s assassin wanted to kill peace, the peace which Rabin symbolized. We must all declare, on this anniversary of the murder, that Yigal Amir failed. He failed because despite the spike in terrorism, for which there can be no justification, the accomplishments of the Oslo Accords are still alive: Israel’s right to exist in peace and security, self-determination for the Palestinians based on U.N. Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, and peace founded on negotiations.

 

He failed because Israel and the Palestinian Authority, with the support of the international community, agree on the necessity to implement the Road Map to promote a solution based on two states living side-by-side in peace.

 

He failed because we remember the courageous example that Yitzhak Rabin represents in history.

 

France joins me in bowing our collective head before this Israeli giant, this soldier of peace. Let his memory be with us always.

 

 

 

Jacques Chirac is the President of France

פרסום ראשון: 11.03.05, 13:44
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